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William Tufty / Liliana Mayfutt
About William Tufty '''is the mysterious founder of Rosewood Hall. Throughout the first two books of the series, the truth of his identity is explored by Lottie, Ellie, and Binah and revealed to be a persona of '''Liliana Mayfutt, a runaway princess who assumed a male identity in order to escape her restricted life and later set up a school. History Lottie first learns of Liliana Wilda Mayfutt in her royal history elective. She was the sole heir to the Albanian throne and named after the lily, her family's symbol. The Mayfutts were once "as revered and renowned as the Windsors or the Wolfsons". Liliana, however, is described by Professor Devine as a wild princess who never attended royal functions and refused to wear the dresses and jewelry she was given. One story recalls a time when she broke a suitor's nose for making an inappropriate advance. According to history books, Liliana disappeared without a trace, ending the Mayfutt line. All that remains to connect her to her family is a gold necklace with an opal moon in the center. Additionally, only one picture of her remains: a self-portrait sketch of her wearing Lottie's tiara. It is mentioned in the second book of the series that Liliana was never assigned a Partizan or a Portman because she was considered too much work and her family feared a Portman would encourage her reckless behavior. She became close to Ivan Wolfson through a letter exchange their families hoped would lead to marriage. Unfortunately, Ivan never recovered from her disappearance. No one knows what happened to her, but myths warn about Liliana's ghost coming to steal away misbehaving royalty. In reality, Liliana was not eaten by the devil, as some children's poems suggest. She was a runaway princess who assumed a male identity, William Tufty (an anagram of her given name) in order to live freely in a very patriarchal time and later to start Rosewood Hall. At some point, she fell in love with and married Henry Pitkin, one of Lottie's ancestors, and they had a little girl named Edith. The truth about Liliana and William remains a secret to the present day, though one of Tufty's poems suggests that tending to the M on a statue of Elwin the merlin will reveal the truth. Appearance In the sketch Professor Devine shows the class, Liliana is depicted holding a saber with a furious and fierce expression. She has dirty-blonde hair flowing down her back in messy curls and a baby face. Her beautiful blue eyes are described in a love letter from Henry Pitkin. William Tufty is depicted in portraits all around the school. The one Lottie sees in the headmaster's office shows him to have little half-moon glasses on the bridge of his nose and a thoughtful and patient expression, as well as "all-seeing eyes". Personality Though Liliana was described by Professor Devine as fierce and rebellious, Headmaster Croak describes William Tufty as the near opposite. Tufty was thought to be kind, wise, and reserved. His greatest attribute, however, was apparently his ability to be quiet. He used his position to give others the chance to speak. Undercover Princess In Undercover Princess, Binah Fae helps reveal Tufty's dual identities to Ellie and Lottie through a puzzling math equation. Jamie figures out the answer can be converted to letters that are an anagram for "William Tufty", which the girls use to open little boxes given to them by Binah. Lottie's holds a small fox brooch no bigger than her little fingernail. Ellie receives a small enamel mouse. Ellie is confused, but Jamie and Lottie are both reminded of a children's poem called "The Vixen and the Delicate Mouse," a story about how two very different creatures come together to help one another. In the "Tufty" section of the school's library, Lottie and the others discover Tufty wrote many children's poems, including "The Vixen and the Delicate Mouse". Lottie suspects the clue is referring to one of the paintings of William Tufty, one that might be in the headmaster's office. The two girls eventually sneak into the headmaster's office and discover a giant portrait of Tufty. Lottie leaves with the revelation that he was "not born who he became" and was both the vixen and the delicate mouse from the story. He was a born a woman, but lived out his life as a man. She and Ellie decide to respect the information and not pry into his life any further, deciding that if they are meant to find out the truth about his identity, they will one day. Princess in Practice ''Princess in Practice ''once again dives into the mystery about William Tufty's true identity after a Stratus boy tells Lottie about the Elwin Statue superstition. Supposedly, the twin Stratus namesakes, Shray and Sana Stratus, weaved magic into every statue they made for each house. Patting the bird statue of Elwin the merlin three times and then polishing the W on his plaque will grant you one wish, but only if you're visited by the ghost of William Tufty. A girl named Sunmi offers to take Lottie to the statue. The bronze bird has its wings spread, and the W in its name is slightly larger than the other letters. Lottie pats its head three times, polishes the W, and then wishes for a family. Afterwards, Lottie feels guilty for her wish and dreams of Liliana's ghost coming to steal her tiara and Ellie away. She eventually admits her wish to Ellie and Binah on Halloween, revealing she feels haunted by a disconnect to her family. Binah says they should try to contact her ancestors through a seance. Using a ouji board, the girls call upon one of Lottie's ancestors, who spells out letters that rearranged can become "Lili Mayfutt". Binah points out the letters could also be "William Tufty," if they had a W. She says it's strange that Lottie is being haunted by a rebellious princess instead of the school's founder, as the superstitious poem suggests. Lottie realizes that the ouji board was telling them to flip the M to get a W. The girls rush to the Elwin statue outside Stratus house, and after struggling to open what they believe to be the entrance to a secret hideout, the words "Liliana Mayfutt" seem to open it. The statue's W slowly turns around to an M. A staircase is opened, leading to an underground hideout full of paintings of Henry Pitkin (who is one of Lottie's ancestors). They find the diary of Liliana Mayfutt and a love letter Henry sent to her about their daughter. Lottie realizes that she is a descendant of both Pitkin and Tufty. The girls decide to keep Liliana's studio a secret, but use it to devise their plan against Leviathan and later show it to Jamie and Anastacia.